Blood in the Sand: A story of the Soviet-Iran War and its aftermath
Jun 8, 2018 20:56:54 GMT
lordroel likes this
Post by minuteman on Jun 8, 2018 20:56:54 GMT
Part 1 will deal with the war, part 2 will deal with its aftermath
POD: Khomeini is more anti-Soviet than anti-American, though he is still the latter.
Part 1, Chapter 1: The Beginning
In 1978 Iran was under the control of the authoritarian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The secret police, SAVAK, captured and tortured political dissidents, all parties were banned except for the pro-Shah Rastakhiz, and generally most Iranians were poor. Islamists, communists, socialists, liberals, nationalists, democrats, all had reason to dislike the Shah's regime. The former group would end up playing a pivotal role in post-Shah Iran.
However, by 1978, the anger Iranians had towards the Shah exploded into rage. The Islamic Revolution, as it was soon called, had numerous Iranians protesting against the Shah and many in favor of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who was in exile in Switzerland. The Shah eventually tried to abdicate and attempt, but fail to escape. Mohammad Pahlavi was subsequently executed in a trial most would call unfair.
The new Iranian government refused to align with either the US or the USSR, and had reasons for disliking both (the US supported the Shah while the USSR was a boogeyman as they were a big atheist country to the north). As Iran slowly isolated itself, another event occurred in the region in 1979. Following political instability after the 1978 Afghan Communist (Saur) revolution, the Soviet Union invaded (or, according to its supporters, "intervened in") Afghanistan to support the communist government, which led to an insurgency by Islamic militants supported by Pakistan and the United States. Iran protested the invasion, though little did they know that soon it was them that would be invaded as well.
On April 24th, 1980 news emerged from Afghanistan that Soviet troops had looted a Shia Hazara village named Aliabad in Northern Afghanistan, killing 390 villagers, around 90% of the village's population. The Soviet Union court-martialed the troops responsible, though it did not save them from international condemnation, and the Aliabad Massacre was called the "Soviet My Lai" in international media. However, none were as livid as the Iranians.
"Death to the Soviets! Death to Communism!" was heard in numerous Iranian cities following Aliabad. Soviet flags were burnt, known communists lost their jobs and were even killed. Khomeini used Aliabad as an excuse to ban all leftist parties, which was not a controversial move at the time. However, the anger was not done yet. On April 30th, Iranian students stormed the Soviet embassy in Tehran, killing everyone who was a Soviet. Khomeini being mum on the issue led to numerous countries condemning Iran. However, the Soviets had gained a casus belli. The embassy massacre, along with suppression of the far-left and silence of the government over the embassy massacre had been more than enough proof that if the Soviets do not act, Iran would cause problems in Afghanistan and in the Shia-majority Azerbaijan SSR, a notion which did not sound that implausible. Alongside that, the Soviet Union had a close relationship with Iraq, which was preparing to invade Iran. On May 3rd, the Soviet Union began their invasion of Iran. The war had begun.
Part 1, Chapter 2: International Reaction
To say the least, the international reaction towards the Soviet invasion of Iran just a few months after the invasion of Afghanistan was not good. The Soviet Union was a bit first hesitant to go hard on Iran for fear of the United States invoking the Carter Doctrine, which states that the United States, if necessary, will use military force to protect its interests in the Persian Gulf. However, Carter feared that invoking the doctrine in this particular instance would lead to nuclear war, and as Ronald Reagan was on track to becoming the Republican nominee for the 1980 Presidential Election, a common attack on Reagan was that he was too hawkish and would lead to nuclear war. Carter also feared funding Khomeini, as he knew that while Khomeini was anti-Soviet, to say he was pro-American would be far from the truth and Carter thought that funding Khomeini would lead to him ending up turning on America. However, this did not sit well with Americans as they were seeing Soviets bomb Iran with little restraint, and could be the reason for Carter's close re-election loss in 1980. However, Carter did use diplomatic means in order to get the countries around the Persian Gulf in line.
The OIC - Organization of Islamic Cooperation - condemned the Soviet Union, and to a lesser extent communism in general, in the harshest words. The OIC not only called for withdrawal of Soviet troops from both Iran and Afghanistan, but also independence to Muslim majority SSRs and ASSRs. In the same statement it also denounced communism as un-Islamic and said that the USSR was launching a "War on Islam" and pointed out the fact that many Soviet Muslims are not observing. The statement released from the OIC was translated into numerous languages and was seen in Iran, Afghanistan and in the Soviet Union, and to a lesser extent China, and many terrorists would cite this as a reason as to why they carried out attacks in the USSR. To this day many speculate as to the US involvement in influencing the OIC while they were releasing the statement.
Pakistan, a country which while officially was a US ally was becoming more and more pro-Chinese what with American sanctions placed on them for their nuclear program, began to come back to America's orbit what with the invasions of both Iran and Afghanistan. Pakistan already were in contact with Islamic extremists in Afghanistan, and now with the invasion of Iran had opened up links with Khomeini. While Zia ul-Haq, the current president of Pakistan, was pursuing an Islamization of Pakistan and leaned more in favor with implementing Sunni law which began to cause problems with Shias, Zia tried to stifle his own sectarianism towards Shias in order to establish ties with Iran. Not only that, but in Afghanistan Sunni extremists were willing to ally with Shia extremists to both fight against the Soviets.
While the United Nations condemned the Soviet Union for their invasion, some countries stood by it. There was the Warsaw Pact, which always be in favor of the Soviets along with the COMECON. At the same time, a certain dictator to Iran's west not only supported the Soviets, but also began to make plans...
Part 1, Chapter 3: Opening Stages, May to July 1980
At the stroke of the midnight hour of May 3rd, the Soviets launched an air offensive around Iranian positions around their northern border. Alongside that, Iranian naval positions around the Caspian were destroyed fairly easily, crippling a part of the Iranian military. With much of Iran's northern forces damaged, the Soviets make a move capturing village after village. However, on May 5th Iranian shelling kills 19 Soviet border guards.
By May 7th, the Soviet Union launches a week long offensive which ends with the capture of Tabriz and Mashhad. Tehran is looking increasingly vulnerable, which is clear to the Iranian government which begins to move to Bandar Abbas. The first Pakistani weaponry reaches Iran by this time as well. Arabian governments along with the British government begin to also align with Khomeini and aid to them has begun, though military aid will not begin until 1981.
The Battle of Tehran was a watershed moment for the war. The battle only lasted the better part of two weeks, yet the impact could not be denied. Not only did it demoralize the Iranian government, but made Saddam Hussein believe that Iran was about to lose and launched an attack into the Khuzestan province, much against the advice of his generals who at most was suggesting that an attack should happen in September so as to be fully prepared.
With Tehran captured now the Soviets had the problem of choosing who would be the leader of Iran. Their three options were the Tudeh Party and their leader Noureddin Kianouri, which were a party which were more closely aligned to the Soviets, the Mujahedin-e-Khalq and their leaders Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, an Islamic communist party funded by Iraq, and choosing it had the advantage of the "Soviet's War on Islam" argument propagated by many Islamists to hold much less water and the Fedai Guerrillas and their leader Ashraf Deghani, which were Maoists. Deghani's group was discarded only on for being, well, Maoists, something which the Soviets post Sino-Soviet split had less tolerance for. Kianouri and the Rajavis were different as both groups had support among both the hardliners and moderates. Eventually it was decided that a popular front government with Kianouri and Rajavi being in power as some sort of duumvirate. On June 1st, the People's Republic of Iran was formed. On that same date, the Soviet Union had solidified control over most of Iran north of Kashan.
Soviet leadership could not help but cringe at how pathetic Iraq was doing. Indeed, by this point many western commentators began comparing Saddam to Mussolini. Eventually, the USSR decided to cut Iraq's losses by sending 2,000 troops to Khuzestan, which ended with Iraq capturing Abadan and Khorramshahr within two weeks of their arrival. Iraq also formed a group known as the Arabistan Liberation Army, which was meant to separate the Arab parts of Iran from it and make it independent.
Numerous separatist movements from Iran wanted support from the Soviets and Iraqis. Azeri separatists and Turkmen separatists were ignored as the Soviets feared they could stab them in the back and support separatism in the Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan SSR, and Kurdish separatists in Iran were supported by Iraq on the condition that they cut off all ties with Kurdish separatists in Iraq, many of which did. In return, Iran began to fund Kurdish separatists in Iraq. Iraq also tried to restart the Baloch insurgency in Iran, which would end up causing problems in Pakistan. Iran, in an attempt to hurt the Soviets in their own state began to create Azeri militias such as the Azerbaijan Patriotic Front, which also began to receive Turkish and Pakistani support.
When it came to abroad, Jimmy Carter began to lift sanctions on Pakistan and offered 400 million dollars, though they were rejected by President Zia ul-Haq, who called them "peanuts". As Reagan was leading in the polls as a result of Carter's few steps to counter Soviet aggression in the Persian Gulf, Zia thought, correctly, that he could get a better deal from Reagan, seeing as how in the past Democrats were pro-India were Republicans were pro-Pakistan (Kennedy openly supported India in their war against China, while Nixon stood by Pakistan even as it was committing a genocide). The United Kingdom also began to establish ties with the Iranian government, though limited as the US was not coming around to that idea yet. Arab governments, however, began to openly support the Iranian government.
The Soviet Union by mid June began to pick up on Iranian activities in Azerbaijan, and began to plan an offensive with the goal of capturing Isfahan, which was the capital of the Safavid Empire in the 16th century and held plenty of cultural importance to Iran. Preparation on July 1st, 1980.
Part 1, Chapter 4: Beginning of Operatsiya Burya Pustyne (Operation Desert Storm), July to November 1980
By July of 1980, just two months into the war, the Soviet Union had consolidated control over most of the far northern regions of Iran, alongside that with Tehran being captured. However, with a hostile Iranian state encompassing most of Iran and creating terrorist groups on Soviet soil, the USSR began to prepare for a plan to destroy the Iranian government once and for all and replace it with a friendly pro-Soviet government, alongside that giving Arabistan and Balochistan independence, which was suggested by Iraq. The plan was code named Operatsiya Burya Pustyne (Operation Desert Storm), and the Soviet government had expected full occupation by February 1981.
The first wave of attacks began on July 23rd, 1980, with Iranian positions along the Kermanshah province being attacked by Soviet and Iraqi planes. That same day, the Iraqi navy moved into the Persian Gulf, attacking Iranian naval positions and capturing oil fields. The United States' sanctions on Iraq for allying with the Soviets in the invasion of Iran was proving to be a double edged sword as Iranian oil became Iraqi oil overnight, causing a rise in oil prices. Numerous bombing raids occurred all across areas of Iran not under Soviet occupation.
After three days of airstrikes and bombing raids, the Soviet Union began to drive south, expecting minimal resistance what with the quick capture of Tehran, along with successes in the northwest section of Iran. They had, however, failed to realize that Qom, a city which had Soviet troops enter in less than 45 minutes after the beginning of Burya Pustyne, was a holy site for Shias, and because of that it would be a tough nut to crack. Numerous Iranian soldiers were on nearly every street corner, but no building was as guarded as the Fatima Masumeh Shrine, a sacred site among Shia Muslims. Not only that, but in the northeast the Soviets were also facing resistance among Iranians, notably in Mashhad, which holds the Imam Reza shrine. By August most Iranian resistance in the two cities was wearing thin, though it was at a high cost for the USSR. Now, Iranian forces focused on protecting the Fatimah Masumeh and Imam Reza shrine. Soon, the Soviet Union began to plan to crush the resistance there, religious sensitivities be damned.
At around 9 PM Iranian Time Soviet planes began to carry out an airstrike in Mashhad targeted at the Iranian military which lasts for ten minutes. Following that, a bombing campaign was launched around the Imam Reza Shrine, greatly damaging it. An hour later, Soviet troops stormed the shrine, killing every Iranian inside it. The same plan was done with the Fatimah Masumeh shrine, though the execution of it was shorter.
The anger of what happened to both shrines was tremendous. Khomeini, following the attack of the shrines, ordered the formation of the Mobilization Resistance Force, or Basij, a voluntary organization meant to attack the Soviets. Immediately, numerous people volunteered, including those as young as ten. The Basij used numerous tactics to attack Soviet troops, though what was more jarring was the use of suicide bombings, especially by child soldiers.
From then on, the Soviet Union began to face a much tougher resistance. Iranian troops began to plant mines, and Shias from all across the world, and even some Sunnis, began to go into Iran to fight the Soviets. Shia groups were being formed in Iraq, though like their counterparts in Azerbaijan only managed to commit petty crimes at first, though as time will go on things will escalate. Around the same time following the shrine siege, Iraq declared independence of the Democratic Republic of Arabistan, which was quickly recognized by Iraq, the USSR, the Warsaw Pact and Afghanistan. Most of the world refused to, calling Arabistan an illegal state, and called for a UN-monitored referendum.
By the time the Soviet Union had reached Isfahan, the 1980 United States Presidential Election had concluded. Ronald Reagan, through a 298-240 electoral college victory (though loses the popular vote) had become the 40th President of the United States. Reagan throughout the campaign trail had called Khomeini a "freedom fighter" and criticized Carter for his unwillingness to support him and Iran in general. The election of Reagan gave the UK the incentive to aid Iran both through the economic and military aid, expecting the US to begin doing the same. Detente was slowly being overturned, and now the USSR would had to prepare itself against an Iran which would soon be getting American weaponry.
Part 1, Chapter 5: Remainder of Burya Pustyne, November 1980 to January 1981
It became abundantly clear that by November even when Burya Pustyne's intended end date of January 31st, 1981, the goals (which were to crush the Iranian government or severely weaken it that it will collapse in mid-February), would not be accomplished. A pro-Iranian president-elect in the United States made it even more obvious. Despite the best of their ability, videos of Khomeini's sermons made its way to Red Iran (as it was beginning to be called in Western media) and Iraq, which caused problems for the annual Arba'een pilgrimage in Karbala, Iraq.
Every year around late November, Shia Muslims embark on a pilgrimage to Karbala. Late November is around the time the forty-day mourning period after Ashura ends, and is meant to commemorate the martyrdom of Husayn Ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in 680 at the Battle of Karbala. Usually >10 million Shias go to Karbala, and entire Shia villages and towns in Iraq are emptied out around two weeks before the pilgrimage is supposed to start. A controversy erupted among the Shia, and to a lesser extent Sunni, world when Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, banned pilgrimage for "security reasons", though some suspected anti-Shia bigotry on his part. In response, Khomeini gave a sermon in Arabic (while Khomeini did not speak Arabic, a speech was given to him by his companions who did) calling for Iraqi Shias to go ahead with the pilgrimage and refuse to abide by the ban. A couple days later, on December 3rd of 1980, the sermon made its way to Iraq. Only 200 Shias heeded the call, though that number was enough to cause trouble. Iraqi police tried to make them disperse, but those Shias fought back. After around ten minutes, a riot broke out which continued unabated for three days. As the dust settled, only two of those Shias who heeded Khomeini's call survive; one made his way to Iran and fought for Khomeini and was killed in 1986, the other managed to flee to Turkey and was interviewed in the 2004 Iraqi documentary titled The Karbala Riots.
The documentary's name is what the riots were remembered as. Iraq was suspended from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and pledged to only return Iraq's membership when the Ba'ath government falls. Iraq defended itself by making fabricated claims that some of those Shias were Iranian and Pakistani agents, but had little to back it up. Noted Shia cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim announced the formation of the Fighters for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (FIRI), which had the goal of forming an Iran-style regime in Iraq. FIRI was supported covertly by the United States following 1981 through Saudi Arabia (and later, Syria). FIRI was also funded by Pakistan, and had ties with Kurdish separatists in Iraq, which was one of the reasons for the 1989-1990 Iraqi genocide, with Kurds and Shias both being targeted. The Karbala Riots were seen as a pivotal moment in Iraqi history, and today in Iraq December 5th-December 8th are national holidays meant to mourn the Shias that were killed.
Outside of Iraq, the riots also affected the Soviet war effort. Iranian forces had managed to push Soviet forces back to the outskirts of Isfahan, an offensive to reach Birjand was halted, but what could be the most important ripple effect of the Karbala riots was the Qom Uprising. If the map of areas Red Iran controlled was any indication, it was that they had pushed so far into Iranian territory, that they must have been widespread support for them in the places they've controlled, right? The answer, as some began to find out was no. While in some places you can argue there was widespread support for the Rajavi-Kianouri duumvirate, those places were small and were far from each other. Most of the time there was a hushed disapproval - many Iranians saw the ruthlessness of the Soviet forces and were worried that any loud discontent could not just lead to them being arrested, but could also lead to the harassment of their family and friends from Soviet and Red Iranian forces. In Qom, a holy city, the news of the Karbala riots had the people of the city forget their worry. The Soviets had damaged the Fatimah Masumeh Shrine, now their ally opened fire on Shia pilgrims. Clearly, this was more than just a country which declared war to protect their own interests, no - this was a power actively hostile to Shi'ism, a new Umayyad Caliphate. On December 14th, Qommites attacked Soviet and Red Iranian troops, set fire to government buildings and killed "collaborators", who were mostly just those who probably were critical of the USSR, but not enough. A small Iranian exclave was set up in Qom and lasted for a couple days until the USSR sent troops which defeated the disorganized, ill-equipped Qom army. Still, the resistance of Qom to the Soviets was seen in the entire world, and was used by Iranians as a propaganda tool, and to this day it is remembered on every December 14th as Qom Martyr's Day in Iran. The 1983 American film Loyal To The End shows a portrayal of a Unionist exclave in Mississippi during the American Civil War, though its inspiration is clear - at the end of the opening credits has a dedication: "This film is dedicated to the courageous people of Iran".
As if the Soviets needed more of it, the crushing of the Qom exclave just led to more bad luck. More and more Iranians were becoming soldiers, more and more Pakistani and Arab weapons were being sent to Iran, more and more Muslims were going to Iran to fight for Khomeini, and with the Qom Uprising being crushed, now the Soviets were being driven out of the outskirts of Isfahan, and Khomeini and ordered the (almost destroyed) Iranian air force to attack Soviet targets on December 29th, but the Soviet response made the almost destroyed air force completely destroyed, yet one of the small raids led to the death of the perpetual Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, who was visiting troops in Tehran. The death of such an important figure in the Cold War had surprised many, and further cemented Carter's beliefs that funding Khomeini was a bad idea. Reagan sent his condolences, though privately he was not so convinced.
As 1980 turned into 1981, the next meeting of the Soviet government had everyone distrusting each other. Burya Pustyne was an utter failure, no way the Soviets were going to occupy a country as large and anti-Soviet as Iran in such a short time. At least Afghanistan went through a communist revolution, which could explain why Afghanistan was fairly easier, but Iran had gone through an Islamic revolution, and trying to fight that would be extremely hard. Some Western commentators had joked about the irony of the USSR trying to suppress a revolution they feel would cause problems in their own country, as many Europeans and Americans wanted to do the same to the Soviets in the 1920s, and such jokes really got to some Soviet politicians. As morale on the Soviet government was decreasing, nobody could decide what to do after Burya Pustyne. Withdrawal was not an option - if the Iranians weren't going to do anything after Aliabad, after the invasion they definitely will. A few still stuck with Burya Pustyne, arguing that while it might not reach the intended end date of January 31st, there was a chance Iran might break by the end of February.
Ultimately, the prevailing plan was an Afghanistan spillover, where Soviet troops in Afghanistan will attack Iranian Balochistan and set up an independent Balochistan there, and aid Soviet troops in Eastern Iran. At the same time, Soviet troops in the far northeast of Iran will go to Afghanistan to be in place of the Soviet troops which left Afghanistan. It was agreed upon on January 6th, and it took exactly one fortnight for Soviet troops to be prepared. As Soviet troops began to attack Balochistan, Ronald Reagan took the oath of office. It wouldn't be long until Iranian fighters received M-16s.
POD: Khomeini is more anti-Soviet than anti-American, though he is still the latter.
Part 1, Chapter 1: The Beginning
In 1978 Iran was under the control of the authoritarian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The secret police, SAVAK, captured and tortured political dissidents, all parties were banned except for the pro-Shah Rastakhiz, and generally most Iranians were poor. Islamists, communists, socialists, liberals, nationalists, democrats, all had reason to dislike the Shah's regime. The former group would end up playing a pivotal role in post-Shah Iran.
However, by 1978, the anger Iranians had towards the Shah exploded into rage. The Islamic Revolution, as it was soon called, had numerous Iranians protesting against the Shah and many in favor of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who was in exile in Switzerland. The Shah eventually tried to abdicate and attempt, but fail to escape. Mohammad Pahlavi was subsequently executed in a trial most would call unfair.
The new Iranian government refused to align with either the US or the USSR, and had reasons for disliking both (the US supported the Shah while the USSR was a boogeyman as they were a big atheist country to the north). As Iran slowly isolated itself, another event occurred in the region in 1979. Following political instability after the 1978 Afghan Communist (Saur) revolution, the Soviet Union invaded (or, according to its supporters, "intervened in") Afghanistan to support the communist government, which led to an insurgency by Islamic militants supported by Pakistan and the United States. Iran protested the invasion, though little did they know that soon it was them that would be invaded as well.
On April 24th, 1980 news emerged from Afghanistan that Soviet troops had looted a Shia Hazara village named Aliabad in Northern Afghanistan, killing 390 villagers, around 90% of the village's population. The Soviet Union court-martialed the troops responsible, though it did not save them from international condemnation, and the Aliabad Massacre was called the "Soviet My Lai" in international media. However, none were as livid as the Iranians.
"Death to the Soviets! Death to Communism!" was heard in numerous Iranian cities following Aliabad. Soviet flags were burnt, known communists lost their jobs and were even killed. Khomeini used Aliabad as an excuse to ban all leftist parties, which was not a controversial move at the time. However, the anger was not done yet. On April 30th, Iranian students stormed the Soviet embassy in Tehran, killing everyone who was a Soviet. Khomeini being mum on the issue led to numerous countries condemning Iran. However, the Soviets had gained a casus belli. The embassy massacre, along with suppression of the far-left and silence of the government over the embassy massacre had been more than enough proof that if the Soviets do not act, Iran would cause problems in Afghanistan and in the Shia-majority Azerbaijan SSR, a notion which did not sound that implausible. Alongside that, the Soviet Union had a close relationship with Iraq, which was preparing to invade Iran. On May 3rd, the Soviet Union began their invasion of Iran. The war had begun.
Part 1, Chapter 2: International Reaction
To say the least, the international reaction towards the Soviet invasion of Iran just a few months after the invasion of Afghanistan was not good. The Soviet Union was a bit first hesitant to go hard on Iran for fear of the United States invoking the Carter Doctrine, which states that the United States, if necessary, will use military force to protect its interests in the Persian Gulf. However, Carter feared that invoking the doctrine in this particular instance would lead to nuclear war, and as Ronald Reagan was on track to becoming the Republican nominee for the 1980 Presidential Election, a common attack on Reagan was that he was too hawkish and would lead to nuclear war. Carter also feared funding Khomeini, as he knew that while Khomeini was anti-Soviet, to say he was pro-American would be far from the truth and Carter thought that funding Khomeini would lead to him ending up turning on America. However, this did not sit well with Americans as they were seeing Soviets bomb Iran with little restraint, and could be the reason for Carter's close re-election loss in 1980. However, Carter did use diplomatic means in order to get the countries around the Persian Gulf in line.
The OIC - Organization of Islamic Cooperation - condemned the Soviet Union, and to a lesser extent communism in general, in the harshest words. The OIC not only called for withdrawal of Soviet troops from both Iran and Afghanistan, but also independence to Muslim majority SSRs and ASSRs. In the same statement it also denounced communism as un-Islamic and said that the USSR was launching a "War on Islam" and pointed out the fact that many Soviet Muslims are not observing. The statement released from the OIC was translated into numerous languages and was seen in Iran, Afghanistan and in the Soviet Union, and to a lesser extent China, and many terrorists would cite this as a reason as to why they carried out attacks in the USSR. To this day many speculate as to the US involvement in influencing the OIC while they were releasing the statement.
Pakistan, a country which while officially was a US ally was becoming more and more pro-Chinese what with American sanctions placed on them for their nuclear program, began to come back to America's orbit what with the invasions of both Iran and Afghanistan. Pakistan already were in contact with Islamic extremists in Afghanistan, and now with the invasion of Iran had opened up links with Khomeini. While Zia ul-Haq, the current president of Pakistan, was pursuing an Islamization of Pakistan and leaned more in favor with implementing Sunni law which began to cause problems with Shias, Zia tried to stifle his own sectarianism towards Shias in order to establish ties with Iran. Not only that, but in Afghanistan Sunni extremists were willing to ally with Shia extremists to both fight against the Soviets.
While the United Nations condemned the Soviet Union for their invasion, some countries stood by it. There was the Warsaw Pact, which always be in favor of the Soviets along with the COMECON. At the same time, a certain dictator to Iran's west not only supported the Soviets, but also began to make plans...
Part 1, Chapter 3: Opening Stages, May to July 1980
At the stroke of the midnight hour of May 3rd, the Soviets launched an air offensive around Iranian positions around their northern border. Alongside that, Iranian naval positions around the Caspian were destroyed fairly easily, crippling a part of the Iranian military. With much of Iran's northern forces damaged, the Soviets make a move capturing village after village. However, on May 5th Iranian shelling kills 19 Soviet border guards.
By May 7th, the Soviet Union launches a week long offensive which ends with the capture of Tabriz and Mashhad. Tehran is looking increasingly vulnerable, which is clear to the Iranian government which begins to move to Bandar Abbas. The first Pakistani weaponry reaches Iran by this time as well. Arabian governments along with the British government begin to also align with Khomeini and aid to them has begun, though military aid will not begin until 1981.
The Battle of Tehran was a watershed moment for the war. The battle only lasted the better part of two weeks, yet the impact could not be denied. Not only did it demoralize the Iranian government, but made Saddam Hussein believe that Iran was about to lose and launched an attack into the Khuzestan province, much against the advice of his generals who at most was suggesting that an attack should happen in September so as to be fully prepared.
With Tehran captured now the Soviets had the problem of choosing who would be the leader of Iran. Their three options were the Tudeh Party and their leader Noureddin Kianouri, which were a party which were more closely aligned to the Soviets, the Mujahedin-e-Khalq and their leaders Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, an Islamic communist party funded by Iraq, and choosing it had the advantage of the "Soviet's War on Islam" argument propagated by many Islamists to hold much less water and the Fedai Guerrillas and their leader Ashraf Deghani, which were Maoists. Deghani's group was discarded only on for being, well, Maoists, something which the Soviets post Sino-Soviet split had less tolerance for. Kianouri and the Rajavis were different as both groups had support among both the hardliners and moderates. Eventually it was decided that a popular front government with Kianouri and Rajavi being in power as some sort of duumvirate. On June 1st, the People's Republic of Iran was formed. On that same date, the Soviet Union had solidified control over most of Iran north of Kashan.
Soviet leadership could not help but cringe at how pathetic Iraq was doing. Indeed, by this point many western commentators began comparing Saddam to Mussolini. Eventually, the USSR decided to cut Iraq's losses by sending 2,000 troops to Khuzestan, which ended with Iraq capturing Abadan and Khorramshahr within two weeks of their arrival. Iraq also formed a group known as the Arabistan Liberation Army, which was meant to separate the Arab parts of Iran from it and make it independent.
Numerous separatist movements from Iran wanted support from the Soviets and Iraqis. Azeri separatists and Turkmen separatists were ignored as the Soviets feared they could stab them in the back and support separatism in the Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan SSR, and Kurdish separatists in Iran were supported by Iraq on the condition that they cut off all ties with Kurdish separatists in Iraq, many of which did. In return, Iran began to fund Kurdish separatists in Iraq. Iraq also tried to restart the Baloch insurgency in Iran, which would end up causing problems in Pakistan. Iran, in an attempt to hurt the Soviets in their own state began to create Azeri militias such as the Azerbaijan Patriotic Front, which also began to receive Turkish and Pakistani support.
When it came to abroad, Jimmy Carter began to lift sanctions on Pakistan and offered 400 million dollars, though they were rejected by President Zia ul-Haq, who called them "peanuts". As Reagan was leading in the polls as a result of Carter's few steps to counter Soviet aggression in the Persian Gulf, Zia thought, correctly, that he could get a better deal from Reagan, seeing as how in the past Democrats were pro-India were Republicans were pro-Pakistan (Kennedy openly supported India in their war against China, while Nixon stood by Pakistan even as it was committing a genocide). The United Kingdom also began to establish ties with the Iranian government, though limited as the US was not coming around to that idea yet. Arab governments, however, began to openly support the Iranian government.
The Soviet Union by mid June began to pick up on Iranian activities in Azerbaijan, and began to plan an offensive with the goal of capturing Isfahan, which was the capital of the Safavid Empire in the 16th century and held plenty of cultural importance to Iran. Preparation on July 1st, 1980.
Part 1, Chapter 4: Beginning of Operatsiya Burya Pustyne (Operation Desert Storm), July to November 1980
By July of 1980, just two months into the war, the Soviet Union had consolidated control over most of the far northern regions of Iran, alongside that with Tehran being captured. However, with a hostile Iranian state encompassing most of Iran and creating terrorist groups on Soviet soil, the USSR began to prepare for a plan to destroy the Iranian government once and for all and replace it with a friendly pro-Soviet government, alongside that giving Arabistan and Balochistan independence, which was suggested by Iraq. The plan was code named Operatsiya Burya Pustyne (Operation Desert Storm), and the Soviet government had expected full occupation by February 1981.
The first wave of attacks began on July 23rd, 1980, with Iranian positions along the Kermanshah province being attacked by Soviet and Iraqi planes. That same day, the Iraqi navy moved into the Persian Gulf, attacking Iranian naval positions and capturing oil fields. The United States' sanctions on Iraq for allying with the Soviets in the invasion of Iran was proving to be a double edged sword as Iranian oil became Iraqi oil overnight, causing a rise in oil prices. Numerous bombing raids occurred all across areas of Iran not under Soviet occupation.
After three days of airstrikes and bombing raids, the Soviet Union began to drive south, expecting minimal resistance what with the quick capture of Tehran, along with successes in the northwest section of Iran. They had, however, failed to realize that Qom, a city which had Soviet troops enter in less than 45 minutes after the beginning of Burya Pustyne, was a holy site for Shias, and because of that it would be a tough nut to crack. Numerous Iranian soldiers were on nearly every street corner, but no building was as guarded as the Fatima Masumeh Shrine, a sacred site among Shia Muslims. Not only that, but in the northeast the Soviets were also facing resistance among Iranians, notably in Mashhad, which holds the Imam Reza shrine. By August most Iranian resistance in the two cities was wearing thin, though it was at a high cost for the USSR. Now, Iranian forces focused on protecting the Fatimah Masumeh and Imam Reza shrine. Soon, the Soviet Union began to plan to crush the resistance there, religious sensitivities be damned.
At around 9 PM Iranian Time Soviet planes began to carry out an airstrike in Mashhad targeted at the Iranian military which lasts for ten minutes. Following that, a bombing campaign was launched around the Imam Reza Shrine, greatly damaging it. An hour later, Soviet troops stormed the shrine, killing every Iranian inside it. The same plan was done with the Fatimah Masumeh shrine, though the execution of it was shorter.
The anger of what happened to both shrines was tremendous. Khomeini, following the attack of the shrines, ordered the formation of the Mobilization Resistance Force, or Basij, a voluntary organization meant to attack the Soviets. Immediately, numerous people volunteered, including those as young as ten. The Basij used numerous tactics to attack Soviet troops, though what was more jarring was the use of suicide bombings, especially by child soldiers.
From then on, the Soviet Union began to face a much tougher resistance. Iranian troops began to plant mines, and Shias from all across the world, and even some Sunnis, began to go into Iran to fight the Soviets. Shia groups were being formed in Iraq, though like their counterparts in Azerbaijan only managed to commit petty crimes at first, though as time will go on things will escalate. Around the same time following the shrine siege, Iraq declared independence of the Democratic Republic of Arabistan, which was quickly recognized by Iraq, the USSR, the Warsaw Pact and Afghanistan. Most of the world refused to, calling Arabistan an illegal state, and called for a UN-monitored referendum.
By the time the Soviet Union had reached Isfahan, the 1980 United States Presidential Election had concluded. Ronald Reagan, through a 298-240 electoral college victory (though loses the popular vote) had become the 40th President of the United States. Reagan throughout the campaign trail had called Khomeini a "freedom fighter" and criticized Carter for his unwillingness to support him and Iran in general. The election of Reagan gave the UK the incentive to aid Iran both through the economic and military aid, expecting the US to begin doing the same. Detente was slowly being overturned, and now the USSR would had to prepare itself against an Iran which would soon be getting American weaponry.
Part 1, Chapter 5: Remainder of Burya Pustyne, November 1980 to January 1981
It became abundantly clear that by November even when Burya Pustyne's intended end date of January 31st, 1981, the goals (which were to crush the Iranian government or severely weaken it that it will collapse in mid-February), would not be accomplished. A pro-Iranian president-elect in the United States made it even more obvious. Despite the best of their ability, videos of Khomeini's sermons made its way to Red Iran (as it was beginning to be called in Western media) and Iraq, which caused problems for the annual Arba'een pilgrimage in Karbala, Iraq.
Every year around late November, Shia Muslims embark on a pilgrimage to Karbala. Late November is around the time the forty-day mourning period after Ashura ends, and is meant to commemorate the martyrdom of Husayn Ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in 680 at the Battle of Karbala. Usually >10 million Shias go to Karbala, and entire Shia villages and towns in Iraq are emptied out around two weeks before the pilgrimage is supposed to start. A controversy erupted among the Shia, and to a lesser extent Sunni, world when Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, banned pilgrimage for "security reasons", though some suspected anti-Shia bigotry on his part. In response, Khomeini gave a sermon in Arabic (while Khomeini did not speak Arabic, a speech was given to him by his companions who did) calling for Iraqi Shias to go ahead with the pilgrimage and refuse to abide by the ban. A couple days later, on December 3rd of 1980, the sermon made its way to Iraq. Only 200 Shias heeded the call, though that number was enough to cause trouble. Iraqi police tried to make them disperse, but those Shias fought back. After around ten minutes, a riot broke out which continued unabated for three days. As the dust settled, only two of those Shias who heeded Khomeini's call survive; one made his way to Iran and fought for Khomeini and was killed in 1986, the other managed to flee to Turkey and was interviewed in the 2004 Iraqi documentary titled The Karbala Riots.
The documentary's name is what the riots were remembered as. Iraq was suspended from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and pledged to only return Iraq's membership when the Ba'ath government falls. Iraq defended itself by making fabricated claims that some of those Shias were Iranian and Pakistani agents, but had little to back it up. Noted Shia cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim announced the formation of the Fighters for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (FIRI), which had the goal of forming an Iran-style regime in Iraq. FIRI was supported covertly by the United States following 1981 through Saudi Arabia (and later, Syria). FIRI was also funded by Pakistan, and had ties with Kurdish separatists in Iraq, which was one of the reasons for the 1989-1990 Iraqi genocide, with Kurds and Shias both being targeted. The Karbala Riots were seen as a pivotal moment in Iraqi history, and today in Iraq December 5th-December 8th are national holidays meant to mourn the Shias that were killed.
Outside of Iraq, the riots also affected the Soviet war effort. Iranian forces had managed to push Soviet forces back to the outskirts of Isfahan, an offensive to reach Birjand was halted, but what could be the most important ripple effect of the Karbala riots was the Qom Uprising. If the map of areas Red Iran controlled was any indication, it was that they had pushed so far into Iranian territory, that they must have been widespread support for them in the places they've controlled, right? The answer, as some began to find out was no. While in some places you can argue there was widespread support for the Rajavi-Kianouri duumvirate, those places were small and were far from each other. Most of the time there was a hushed disapproval - many Iranians saw the ruthlessness of the Soviet forces and were worried that any loud discontent could not just lead to them being arrested, but could also lead to the harassment of their family and friends from Soviet and Red Iranian forces. In Qom, a holy city, the news of the Karbala riots had the people of the city forget their worry. The Soviets had damaged the Fatimah Masumeh Shrine, now their ally opened fire on Shia pilgrims. Clearly, this was more than just a country which declared war to protect their own interests, no - this was a power actively hostile to Shi'ism, a new Umayyad Caliphate. On December 14th, Qommites attacked Soviet and Red Iranian troops, set fire to government buildings and killed "collaborators", who were mostly just those who probably were critical of the USSR, but not enough. A small Iranian exclave was set up in Qom and lasted for a couple days until the USSR sent troops which defeated the disorganized, ill-equipped Qom army. Still, the resistance of Qom to the Soviets was seen in the entire world, and was used by Iranians as a propaganda tool, and to this day it is remembered on every December 14th as Qom Martyr's Day in Iran. The 1983 American film Loyal To The End shows a portrayal of a Unionist exclave in Mississippi during the American Civil War, though its inspiration is clear - at the end of the opening credits has a dedication: "This film is dedicated to the courageous people of Iran".
As if the Soviets needed more of it, the crushing of the Qom exclave just led to more bad luck. More and more Iranians were becoming soldiers, more and more Pakistani and Arab weapons were being sent to Iran, more and more Muslims were going to Iran to fight for Khomeini, and with the Qom Uprising being crushed, now the Soviets were being driven out of the outskirts of Isfahan, and Khomeini and ordered the (almost destroyed) Iranian air force to attack Soviet targets on December 29th, but the Soviet response made the almost destroyed air force completely destroyed, yet one of the small raids led to the death of the perpetual Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, who was visiting troops in Tehran. The death of such an important figure in the Cold War had surprised many, and further cemented Carter's beliefs that funding Khomeini was a bad idea. Reagan sent his condolences, though privately he was not so convinced.
As 1980 turned into 1981, the next meeting of the Soviet government had everyone distrusting each other. Burya Pustyne was an utter failure, no way the Soviets were going to occupy a country as large and anti-Soviet as Iran in such a short time. At least Afghanistan went through a communist revolution, which could explain why Afghanistan was fairly easier, but Iran had gone through an Islamic revolution, and trying to fight that would be extremely hard. Some Western commentators had joked about the irony of the USSR trying to suppress a revolution they feel would cause problems in their own country, as many Europeans and Americans wanted to do the same to the Soviets in the 1920s, and such jokes really got to some Soviet politicians. As morale on the Soviet government was decreasing, nobody could decide what to do after Burya Pustyne. Withdrawal was not an option - if the Iranians weren't going to do anything after Aliabad, after the invasion they definitely will. A few still stuck with Burya Pustyne, arguing that while it might not reach the intended end date of January 31st, there was a chance Iran might break by the end of February.
Ultimately, the prevailing plan was an Afghanistan spillover, where Soviet troops in Afghanistan will attack Iranian Balochistan and set up an independent Balochistan there, and aid Soviet troops in Eastern Iran. At the same time, Soviet troops in the far northeast of Iran will go to Afghanistan to be in place of the Soviet troops which left Afghanistan. It was agreed upon on January 6th, and it took exactly one fortnight for Soviet troops to be prepared. As Soviet troops began to attack Balochistan, Ronald Reagan took the oath of office. It wouldn't be long until Iranian fighters received M-16s.
